Saturday, September 22, 2012

"You, young man, who understand this language and to whom the heroes of the mind seem mysteriously to beckon, but who fear to lack the necessary means, listen to me. Have you two hours a day? Can you undertake to keep them jealously, to use them ardently, and then, being of those who have authority in the Kingdom of God, can you drink the chalice of which these pages would wish to make you savor the exquisite and bitter taste? If so, have confidence. Nay, rest in quiet certainty.

If you are compelled to earn your living, at least you will earn it without sacrificing, as many do, the liberty of your soul. If you are alone, you will but be more violently thrown back on your noble purposes. Most great men followed some calling. Many have declared that the two hours I postulate suffice for an intellectual career. Learn to make the best use of that limited time; plunge every day of your life into the spring which quenches and yet ever renews your thirst.

Do you want to have a humble share in perpetuating wisdom among men, in gathering up the inheritance of the ages, in formulating the rules of the mind for the present time, in discovering facts and causes, in turning men's wandering eyes towards first causes and their hearts towards supreme ends, in reviving if necessary some dying flame, in organizing the propaganda of truth and goodness? That is the lot reserved for you. It is surely worth a little extra sacrifice; it is worth steadily pursuing with jealous passion."

Friday, September 21, 2012

On the righteous and the wickedWithout reasonthat my eyes can see.And grace, how it fallsAs it will, as He wills itWithout counsel, as he wills it, free.For the goodHurts so bad, pain and tears are my foodFor the good…Lord how long, Oh how longWill you hide from me?Will you hide?

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Check out my friend Rachel's song "All Cedars"! The lyrics are based on the same psalm where I got my title for my blog. :)

Here are the lyrics:

from the earth sea monsters and all deeps fire and hail, snow and clouds storms performing at his word mountains and all hills fruit trees and all cedars beasts and all the cattle creeping things and fowl

from the heavens in the heights all his angels, all his hosts sun and moon all stars of light heav’nly bodies of the night

princes and all judges of the earth young men and virgins old men and children all oppressed, all hungry prisoners, the blind, the lowly righteous and all wanderers fatherless and widows

praise

he has lifted up a horn of salvation for us and we will not remain silent beholding creator-savior, amazed loosened tongues and opened mouths the sound of praises rushing out how could we keep quiet? all creation, your creator praise

"As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!' But he said, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'"

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Sunday, September 02, 2012

"I have come to the conclusion that we have no greater burden in all of life than our own inflated egos. No outside force has the power to betray and mislead us the way our own egos do. Pride talks us out of forgiving and steers us away from risking. Pride cheats us of intimacy, because intimacy requires transparency. Pride is a slave driver like no other, and if it can't drive us to destruction, it will drive us to distraction. Think about the madness this one little trait can cause:

If we can't be the most attractive, at least we can be the best at something.
And if we can't be the best at something, we can at least be the hardest working.
And if we can't be the hardest working, we can at least be the most congenial.
And if we can't be the most congenial, we can at least be the most noticeable.
And if we can't be the most noticeable, we can at least be the most religious.
And if we can't be the most religious, we can at least be the most exhausted.

And it never ends, because big egos insist on our being a 'the.' Not just an 'a.'"